County approves $60 million for another leg of San Pedro...

1of51Calder Alley, street level, looking downstream. A rendering of the proposed design for the San Pedro Creek Culture Park phase one, segment two.Photo: Courtesy of the San Antonio River Authority

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3of51Commissioners on Tuesday will expand their ambitious plan revitalizing San Pedro Creek by three more blocks, adding an outdoor venue near the Alameda Theater and a large tile mural near the Spanish Governor’s Palace.Photo: Courtesy

4of51Merodeon looking downstream. A rendering of the proposed design for the San Pedro Creek Culture Park phase one, segment two.Photo: Courtesy of the San Antonio River Authority

5of51Merodeon looking upstream. A rendering of the proposed design for the San Pedro Creek Culture Park phase one, segment two.Photo: Courtesy of the San Antonio River Authority

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7of51Big changes are planned for San Antonio. Click ahead to see how San Antonio is going to look in just a few short years.Photo: FILE

8of51Frost Bank Tower
The city of San Antonio paved the way for the construction of Frost Bank Tower in 2015, when it approved a public-private partnership with Weston Urban and Frost Bank. Crews started construction in 2017.
Estimated completion: January 2019Photo: Jerry Lara /Staff photographer

10of51HemisfairResidents and officials have been debating what to do with the 92-acre park since the 1968 world's fair was held there.Photo: google street view

11of51Local developer Zachry Corp. revealed designs in February for a proposed $200 million mixed-use project at Hemisfair.Photo: /Rendering courtesy of Zachry Corporation

12of51A rendering of a proposed mixed-use development showing the market view at Hemisfair. Local developer Zachry Corp.’s $200 million mixed-use project at Hemisfair is designed to feel new while evoking San Antonio’s 300-year architectural history. The Historic and Design Review Commission unanimously voted to grant initial approval to the developer’s plan to build a 14-story hotel, an eight-story office tower and a food market on Alamo Street at Hemisfair’s northwest corner, surrounding Civic Park, a planned nine-acre public park.Photo: /Rendering courtesy of Zachry Corporation

14of51A rendering of a proposed mixed-use development showing Source Plaza near Hemisfair. Local developer Zachry Corp.’s $200 million mixed-use project at Hemisfair is designed to feel new while evoking San Antonio’s 300-year architectural history.Photo: Courtesy Zachry Corporation

15of51101 Lexington Ave.The vacant lot at 101 Lexington Ave., would soon be the site of a tower.
Estimated completion: 2020Photo: Google Street view

16of51The development will offer its residents amenities such as 24-hour room service and a spa, a ballroom, a rooftop bar, a pool deck and a top-of-the-line restaurant, according to a news release from DC Partners. Five of the condos will be penthouses with 12-foot ceilings and wine coolers in their kitchens.Photo: Courtesy of DC Partners

17of51A $116 million hotel-condominium project is underway for San Antonio's art district. The project is expected to be completed by 2019.Photo: Courtesy The Arts Residences

18of51The $116 million development will include a pool deck and rooftop bar.Photo: Courtesy of DC Partners

19of51A $116 million hotel-condominium project is underway for San Antonio's art district. The project is expected to be completed by 2019.Photo: Courtesy The Arts Residences

25of51CPS Energy says the new headquarters will allow the utility to move more of its employees into a single space, improving efficiency.
Completion: 2020Photo: Courtesy photo from CPS Energy /

26of51CPS Energy has made an agreement with Sundt Construction for a $145 million maximum cost for construction of the new headquarters.Photo: Courtesy photo from CPS Energy /

27of51Local developer Hixon Properties is partnering with the Cavender auto family to build a six-story office building on Broadway — the first phase of a new neighborhood they plan to construct on land they own along the downtown thoroughfare.
Estimated completion: 2021Photo: Courtesy Hixon Properties

28of51The building, at 711 Broadway, will include 125,000 square feet of office space and 15,000 of retail, according to a news release from Hixon.Photo: Courtesy Hixon Properties

29of51The building will be constructed with a timber structure rather than concrete or steel in a bid for sustainability.Photo: Courtesy Hixon Properties

31of51The Hut Group is eyeing the 36,000-square-foot Commerce Building at 314 E. Commerce St. for its San Antonio headquarters.Photo: Express-News file photo

32of51The Hut Group would have to create at least 165 jobs paying a minimum of $70,000 within five years to receive a $500,000 economic development grant from the city and a $250,000 grant from Bexar County’s innovation fund.Photo: Courtesy /

33of51Local architecture firm CREO is renovating the Commerce Building to include retail and office space, slated to be completed in 2019, according to the firm’s website.Photo: Courtesy /

34of51Two downtown developments have won initial approval from the city’s Historic and Design Review Commission, including a long-awaited luxury 17-story apartment complex on the River Walk.Photo: Historic and Design Review Commission

35of51Local developer Keller Henderson plans to build the complex, known as the Floodgate, at 139 E. Commerce Street next to the Esquire Tavern.Photo: Historic and Design Review Commission

36of51When the project was proposed in early 2016, it was expected to have 10 stories, but its height is now 17 stories, according to documents from the HDRC.Photo: Historic and Design Review Commission

37of51Henderson told the Express-News last year that apartments at the Floodgate would rent for an average of $4 a square foot, which would make it the most expensive complex in San Antonio by far.Photo: Historic and Design Review Commission

43of51AlamodomeThe 24-year-old Alamodome received a $60 million facelift in 2017 ahead of the 2018 NCAA Men's Final Four, and as part of San Antonio’s pitch to host the 2025 Final Four included a promise that the city would continue to enhance and renovate the Alamodome leading up to the 2025 event. No specifics have been promised, but the NCAA would like to see the Alamodome increase the number of luxury suites from 52 to 70.Photo: Express-News file photo

44of51Changes in 2017 included the addition and transformation of H-E-B Plaza.Photo: Courtesy

46of51The renovations were the most significant capital improvement project in the Alamodome's history.Photo: Courtesy

47of51Spanish artist Daniel Muñoz's new mural on the Magik Theatre building overlooking Hemisfair is titled “25 Windows and a Frame.” He started work on the mural in June 2018.Photo: Marvin Pfeiffer /San Antonio Express-News

48of51The frame referenced in the title is a large rectangular area on the outside wall of the building’s third floor. The windows refer to the long-boarded-up window frames that have been prepared for the project. All will eventually contain images celebrating the city’s Tricentennial.Photo: Marvin Pfeiffer /San Antonio Express-News

51of51It features artwork from Adriana M. Garcia called, “De Todos Caminos Somos Todos Uno,” (From All Roads, We Are All One) along the banks of San Pedro Creek. The artwork is one of dozens included in San Pedro Creek Culture Park.Photo: Kin Man Hui /San Antonio Express-News

Bexar County on Tuesday advanced its ambitious plan to revitalize San Pedro Creek, devoting another $60 million to extend the new downtown park by three blocks.

Plans for the next leg — called “Phase 1.2” — include an outdoor event venue near the Alameda Theater, a large mural behind the Spanish Governor’s Palace and a water wall. Officials initially planned for the extension to be ready by 2020, but they revised their goal Tuesday to March 2021.

The county’s four-phase plan to renovate the creek was first approved with $125 million in 2013 as a way to develop the western section of downtown and control flooding. The first portion of the park opened in May between Santa Rosa and Houston streets.

Commissioner Paul Elizondo said the project presented a rare opportunity — not many cities have a drainage ditch running through downtown, he joked. The park helps restore a part of town that he said was lost to urban renewal and the diverted creek.

“It’s an opportunity to regenerate, vigorously, that particular historic area of our home,” Elizondo said.

Much of the money approved Tuesday had already been budgeted for, according to the San Antonio River Authority, which is managing the project. New funds made up about $16 million of the package and will come from federal reimbursements for the Mission Reach projects.

The total cost of the San Pedro Creek Culture Park is roughly $178 million thus far, officials said.

Dylan McGuinness covers City Hall for the Express-News through the Hearst Journalism Fellowship program. His first beat at the paper was focused on Bexar County government and local politics.

He covered the hard-fought 23rd District congressional race between Will Hurd and Gina Ortiz-Jones in the 2018 election and the special state Senate election to replace Carlos Uresti. He’s also covered goings-on at the sheriff’s department and Bexar County Commissioners Court.

McGuinness previously covered the Rhode Island statehouse for the Associated Press and breaking news for the Boston Globe. He grew up in Connecticut, graduated from Northeastern University in Boston, and is a die-hard Red Sox fan.